1. libpython3.so has soname "llibpython3.so" due to needless "l" in "-Wl,-hl$@".
2. libpython3.so is not linked against libpython$(LDVERSION).so when -Wl,--as-needed flag is used. -Wl,--as-needed flag is used by default in Gentoo due to major benefits.
From `info ld`:
`--as-needed'
`--no-as-needed'
     This option affects ELF DT_NEEDED tags for dynamic libraries
     mentioned on the command line after the `--as-needed' option.
     Normally the linker will add a DT_NEEDED tag for each dynamic
     library mentioned on the command line, regardless of whether the
     library is actually needed or not.  `--as-needed' causes a
     DT_NEEDED tag to only be emitted for a library that satisfies an
     undefined symbol reference from a regular object file or, if the
     library is not found in the DT_NEEDED lists of other libraries
     linked up to that point, an undefined symbol reference from
     another dynamic library.  `--no-as-needed' restores the default
     behaviour.

I'm attaching the patch.

Regardless of this patch, such a libpython3.so regular file cannot exist in Gentoo. Gentoo package manager disallows installation, when it detects file collisions. If I rename libpython3.so of Python 3.2 to libpython3-3.2.so and libpython3.so of Python 3.3 to libpython3-3.3.so, then ldconfig will create libpython3.so symlink pointing to potentially wrong target library. This problem can be avoided by removing soname from libpython3.so, so whole -Wl,-h${soname} could be removed.

Having the soname be libpython3 is the whole point of the library, it serves no other reason.

It is intentional that there are file collisions with that file, and either the local admin or the distributor must make an explicit choice which libpython3 should be installed; it should be the one that corresponds to /usr/bin/python (if you install it into /usr/lib).

As for file20939: it's GNU-ld-specific, so it likely breaks if the linker is not GNU ld.

The -hl -> -h part seems correct though.

> The -hl -> -h part seems correct though.

Indeed.

"Having the soname be libpython3 is the whole point of the library": I think that the point of this library is "libpython3.so" filename, not soname. Everything should still work if libpython3.so had no soname at all.

(If somebody has installed unpatched Python 3.2, then ldconfig will create llibpython3.so symlink (e.g. /usr/lib/llibpython3.so) and linker will hardcode dependency on llibpython3.so in generated libraries/executables during linking against libpython3.so (e.g. when -lpython3 has been specified).)

(I will work on improved patch for -Wl,--no-as-needed.)

> "Having the soname be libpython3 is the whole point of the library":
> I think that the point of this library is "libpython3.so" filename,
> not soname. Everything should still work if libpython3.so had no
> soname at all.

IIUC, the linker will hard-code the full path name (include directory
name) into DT_NEEDED if the shared library has no soname. That would
be undesirable - the DT_NEEDED reference must be just the file name,
not the full path.

I'm attaching improved patch, which adds detection of -Wl,--no-as-needed flag. This issue should be release blocker for Python 3.2.1.

Martin?

New changeset 749686064642 by Martin v. Löwis in branch '3.2':
Use --as-needed when linking libpython3.so. Closes #11347.
http://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/749686064642